Syria WatchDue to the dire nature of the situation in Syria, Impunity Watch has elected to dedicate an entire page to following the story as it develops. The information below is culled from a variety of sources and will be updated periodically. Any commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of Impunity Watch. *WARNING SOME VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

Establishment of “National Preparatory Committee for Transitional Justice” Announced in Istanbul, Turkey: Syrian Judges, Lawyers, Activists to Prepare Plans for Post-Assad Judicial System and Reconciliation

Press Release

30 January 2013 – The Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies (SCPSS) held its second conference on the post-Assad political transition in Syria. The conference, entitled “Transitional Justice in Syria: Accountability and Reconciliation,” was held in Istanbul, Turkey on January 26 and 27, 2013.

The Assad regime continues committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Syrian civilians, as acknowledged by The United Nations Human Rights Council, along with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, both of which have published multiple reports documenting these crimes. However, thus far, the United Nations Security Council has failed to refer these crimes to the International Criminal Court in order to hold the perpetrators accountable.

As a result, the responsibility falls on the post-Assad government and Syrian civil society to prosecute those responsible for human rights violations. Whether on the national or international level, justice must be sought on behalf of the victims of the Syrian revolution. The culture of impunity that has thrived under the Syrian regime for the last forty years must finally be brought to an end.

The implementation of transitional justice is the only way to ensure redress for the Syrian people and at the same time open up a path toward national reconciliation, without which Syria may be vulnerable to further destruction and bloodshed. In fact, reconciliation is a form of transitional justice that is extremely necessary to establish a new Syrian state on a basis of legal legitimacy, pluralism and democracy.

Syria needs to establish a new culture of legitimacy and overcome the legacy of the past by engaging in a national reconciliation carried out through social reconstruction, the establishment of truth commissions, compensation for victims, and the reform of the State’s institutions, especially the security services and the police.

Therefore, the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies announces the establishment of the “National Preparatory Committee for Transitional Justice,” to build programs and future plans for transitional justice in Syria. Committee members include judges, lawyers, former political prisoners, and Syrian human rights activists. The following are the names of the members (some of the members currently living inside Syria have not been named for security reasons):

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